04908 African American History

In this course, students will examine the role African Americans have played in American history. The activities and assignments in the course promote cultural awareness and critical thinking through the lenses of power, politics, economics, and geography. The course traces the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of race relations in the United States. Students will identify and understand the African origins and developments of the Black experience in North America; evaluate how African Americans have shaped, have contributed, and have been shaped by the institutions, policies, and laws established by federal, state, and local governments; evaluate and interpret the various paths of civic responsibility that led to quests for equality, justice, and freedom for individuals and communities facing barriers and oppression based on race, class, and gender; and analyze and understand how the institution of slavery in the United States shaped beliefs about race and the supremacy of one race over another and influenced America’s economy and politics.